While searching for information on these individuals, I found several errors on the headstone. Walter’s middle initial should have been a G for Grant. He was born in 1876, not 1896. Eva was born (according to the 1881 Census, she was 2 years old) in 1878 or 1879, not 1898. I found no death record for her, so she probably died after 1965.

According to Walter Grant MacDonald’s birth record, he was born April 18, 1876 at Harrigan Cove, Halifax County, NS, the son of Elizabeth Atkins and George Alexander McDonald. His parents married in 1864 at Harrigan Cove.

Found in the 1881 Census for Necum Teuch, Eva A. Moser (age 2) was living with her parents, Adelaide (age 22) and Jasper Moser (age 26, miner). In the 1891 Census, Eva (age 12) was living with her parents, Adelaide (age 32) and Jasper (age 36, house carpenter), and her siblings, Agnes (age 9) and Edna (age 9 months). A lodger, William Snow, age 28, was also living in the household. He was a gold miner.

According to Eva and Walter’s marriage record, they married on July 26, 1899 at Quoddy, Halifax County, NS. Eva was 20 years old when she wed. Walter was 23 years old and working as a fisherman.

Walter’s death record stated he died on September 14, 1942 at Harrigan Cove. He was 66 years old. His birth date was recorded as April 11, 1876. He had last worked as a fisherman in June 1942. The person providing the information for the death record was not a relative. He was Earl Snow of Harrigan Cove. Walter’s friends took care of the burial.

Alphabetical Birth Records Search

Searching for surnames starting with the letter A

Atkins, Margaret Ann: Born April 5, 1896 at Harrigan Cove, Halifax County, NS, the daughter of Margaret Ann Turner and William Solomon Atkins.

Today I added a page for the United Church Cemetery at Quoddy, Halifax County, NS. In all my years travelling the eastern shore, I’ve never seen a church on the property, only the cemetery. If one existed, it was decades ago.

To date, I have only two headstones photographed. The one I added today was for John McDonald.

In Loving Memory of

John McDonald

Died April 5, 1899

Aged 55 Yrs.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

The information on his headstone indicates he would have been born in c1844. I found a marriage record for a John McDonald and Mary Shiers that may be for this man. They married on May 10, 1870 at Lower Quoddy. John was 25 years old at the time, giving him a birth year of c1845. According to the record, he was born at Shelburne and living at Harrigan Cove, the son of Elizabeth and Daniel McDonald, and working as a mariner.

Mary Shiers was 24 years old. She was living at Lower Quoddy, but the born location was blank. She was the daughter of Ann and Fredrick Hartling. She was recorded as a spinster, so she probably wasn’t a widow. That may indicate she was raised / adopted by the Hartlings.

Found in the 1871 census, the couple lived at Salmon River, Halifax County. John was 28, working as a seaman, and Mary was 25 years old.

Found in the 1881 census, the couple lived again at Salmon River. John, age 35 and Scotch, was a store keeper. Mary was recorded as French and 35 years old. A married couple, Ann (age 73, English) and Phillip (age 84, German) Hartling lived in the household with them. A six-year-old boy, AlexanderShiers, age 6, lived there too. He was noted as French and attending school.

Found in the 1891 Census, Mary, age 45, and John, age 46, continued to live at Salmon River. Also in the household were Ann Shiers (age 88, widow) and Alexander MacDonald (age 16). It appears Alexander was their adopted son who was recorded as Shiers in 1881, the only child I found for them to date. Ann may have been Ann Hartling who lived with them in 1881, and she is probably the Ann noted in the marriage record.